World Bank President Paul Wolfowitz looks down
during a closing news conference at the final day of the International
Monetary Fund and World Bank spring meeting in Washington, in this April
15, 2007. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo) Photo Gallery
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WASHINGTON, May 17 (Xinhua) -- Besieged World Bank President Paul Wolfowitz will
resign by the end of June, both Wolfowitz and the bank said on Thursday.
"I am announcing today that I will resign as
President of the World Bank Group effective at the end of the fiscal year,
namely June 30, 2007," said Wolfowitz in a statement.
The 63-year-old leader, who had fought the pressure
to resign for weeks, said he has concluded that "it is in the best interests of
those whom this institution serves for that mission to be carried forward under
new leadership."
Meanwhile, the World Bank executive board said in its
own statement that the institution has accepted Wolfowitz's decision to step
down.
"The executive directors acknowledge Mr. Wolfowitz's
decision to resign as president of the World Bank Group, effective end of the
fiscal year (June 30, 2007)," said the statement.
World Bank officials said earlier that Wolfowitz,
former U.S. deputy defense secretary, insisted that he will resign voluntarily
and the bank should share some responsibility for his pay-and-promotion package
for Shaha Riza.
Shaha Riza, Wolfowitz's girlfriend and once a staff
member in the bank, was transferred to the U.S. State Department when Wolfowitz
took over at the World Bank in 2005, to avoid any conflict of interest.
While still on the World Bank payroll, Riza was
rapidly promoted and ended up with a tax-free salary to about 193,000 dollars,
more than even Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice receives before tax.
Pressure on Wolfowitz to resign has grown since a
panel report released on Monday concluded Wolfowitz has placed himself in a
conflict of interest situation over the Riza's assignment and pay package.
"He should have withdrawn from any decision-making in
the matter," said the report, adding the informal advice provided by the World
Bank ethics committee was not a model of clarity.
The panel recommended the bank's 24-member board to
"consider whether Mr. Wolfowitz will be able to provide the leadership needed to
ensure that the Bank continues to operate to the fullest extent possible in
achieving its mandate."
However, Wolfowitz responded immediately on Monday
that the report was unfair and unwarranted.
"It is highly unfair and unwarranted to now find that
I engaged in a conflict of interest because I relied on the advice of the ethics
committee as best I understood it," he said.
"Rather than fix blame for something that wasn't
wrong, we should all acknowledge our responsibility as I have acknowledged
mine," he emphasized in a statement to the board on Tuesday.
In a statement announcing his resignation on
Thursday, Wolfowitz also noted that he was pleased the World Bank executive
board "accepted my assurance that I acted ethically and in good faith in what I
believed were the best interests of the institution, including protecting the
rights of a valued staff member."
As a result of the controversy, the World Bank board
pledged to review the World Bank's ethics policies, noting that "the bank's
systems did not prove robust to the strain under which they were placed."
"He assured us that he acted ethically and in good
faith in what he believed were the best interests of the institution and we
accept that," said the executives in a statement
The Bush administration, which had voiced unwavering
support for Wolfowitz until the last minute, expressed its regret for
Wolfowitz's decision to step down, saying the besieged World Bank chief was a
good man.
"The president will have a candidate to announce
soon, allowing for an orderly transition that will have the World Bank refocused
on its mission," said White House spokesman Tony Fratto.
"We would have preferred that he stay at the Bank,
but the president reluctantly accepts his decision," he added.
The World Bank executive board also said it will
start the nomination process for a new President immediately.
By tradition, the United States names the World Bank chief while Europe nominates the leader of the International Monetary Fund. The U.S. media reported that Bush would choose an American to replace Wolfowitz.
WASHINGTON, May 16 (Xinhua) -- The World Bank executive
board will continue its deliberation over the bank President Paul Wolfowitz's
future on Thursday, the board said in a statement on Wednesday.
The executive directors of the World Bank will "continue
their deliberations tomorrow morning" over "issues raised by the report of the
Ad Hoc Group and in their meetings with Mr. Wolfowitz yesterday," said the
statement. Full Story
WASHINGTON, May 16 (Xinhua) -- Besieged World Bank
President Paul Wolfowitz is negotiating an agreement with the bank board to
resign, World Bank sources said on Wednesday.
The sources said Wolfowitz, former U.S. deputy defense
secretary, insisted that he will resign voluntarily and the bank should share
some responsibility for his pay-and-promotion package for Shaha Riza. Full Story
WASHINGTON, May 16 (Xinhua) -- The
United States, in a major shift, has signaled it would consider a change in
leadership at the World Bank if Paul Wolfowitz decides to resign voluntarily,
The Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday.
Until now, the White House had voiced
unwavering support for the besieged World Bank president, but U.S. officials on
Tuesday also suggested Wolfowitz's ability to lead the institution may be
fading, said the report. Full story
BEIJING, May 16 (Xinhuanet) -- The
World Bank executive board will meet with its President Paul Wolfowitz to decide
his future, the World Bank was quoted as saying by media reports Tuesday.
The special panel set up by the board
to look into the scandal said Wolfowitz clearly violated the bank's code of
conduct in arranging the pay and promotion package for his girlfriend and fellow
bank employee, Shaha Riza. Full story
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